Jo is an experienced NGO leader, setting organisational direction in collaboration with the Board and ensuring operational effectiveness in finance, fundraising, marketing, communications, human resources, membership, and programmes. Jo is adept at managing NGO governance, understanding and ensuring compliance with HMRC, Charity Commission and Companies House regulations in the UK. Jo understands that board effectiveness is crucial to the running of NGOs, with diverse skill sets to support organisations' governance and promote growth.

I have extensive experience of the development and humanitarian learning and development (L&D) sectors, enabling organisations to define both internal L&D requirements, as well as strategy for external capacity building programmes. I  am experienced in overseeing capacity building projects, recognising that human resources are the most important and valuable asset within any organisation. I have worked with a range of partners, including UN agencies, government, INGOs, NGOs and the private sector. 

Jo is skilled in project management, sourcing and coordinating both internal and external resources so that that projects are delivered on time, within scope and within budget. Through meticulous planning, risk anticipation and mitigation, budget planning and management, Jo is able to put the pieces of the project together to deliver results, on schedule and meeting project objectives. Jo can help your organisation to scope projects and develop objectives, involving all relevant stakeholders and ensuring technical feasibility, so that your projects get off to a good start, managing and monitoring throughout.

Jo focuses on income generation through identifying donors aligned with organisations' objectives and reviewing and implementing organisations' processes for business development to make them more efficient and effective.

Jo was part of the successful bidding team for successive DFID humanitarian operations contracts from 2004 until she left in 2017. In addition, from 2017, Jo helped shape Crown Agents’ own Humanitarian, Conflict and Stabilisation team, being part of successful bids such as the US Office of Transition Initiatives SWIFT 5 framework. Jo has overseen key account management programmes with donors to work proactively together to develop project ideas and proposals, as well as guiding proposal development for requests for proposals.

Jo brings years of experience working in surge deployments for humanitarian response, including a range of mechanisms such as United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Teams, the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and the Standby Partnership (SBP). Jo can help you develop and manage rosters and databases to ensure the right person is deployed at the right time and to the right place. I can evaluate your surge mechanisms and advise on new ways of working, including a strong focus on safety and security, duty of care and ensuring the health and wellbeing of your staff. Jo is adept at developing standing operating procedures, HR policies and manuals in diverse humanitarian contexts.

Jo can help your organisation to implement and maintain robust financial management systems, including budgeting, reforecasting, management accounting and cashflow, as well as ensuring your projects and programmes are priced appropriately. Jo understands donor financial obligations and reporting as well as statutory financial reporting such as audits and annual returns.

Jo can ensure your organisation's projects and change initiatives meet objectives on time and on budget by increasing employee adoption and usage and reducing resistance to change. I focus on the people that are part of your business, using tools and workshops in a participatory approach. Through this approach, I can help you to change business processes, design and develop new systems and technology, job roles and organisation structures that work with for both you and your staff.

Jo is familiar with many IT software applications used for the management of NGOs, including in-depth knowledge of Salesforce from both a user and administrator perspective. Jo understands the importance of IT supporting staff, operations and compliance, for example, for data protection (GDPR) purposes. Jo sees knowledge management as the backbone of any organisation and from her roles in investment banking, to her humanitarian work to date, she has been involved in the design, development and implementation of many knowledge management systems including integration of QuickBooks with cashflow app, Fluidly and Salesforce with both Survey Monkey and EventBrite via Zapier. Jo is familiar with applications such as Stripe for payment management, MailChimp and Pardot for managing emails, communication and marketing as well as applications such as Spanning for the back up of Microsoft 365 and Salesforce environments.

Jo’s knowledge of fundraising incorporates both unrestricted and restricted fundraising, including corporate fundraising and trusts and foundations. Jo has overseen unrestricted fundraising initiatives including community fundraising, high net worth individuals, individual giving, appeals, legacies and charity partnerships.